Beginning today, users on both Instagram and Facebook will be able to see precisely how much time they spent viewing stories and scrolling through their feed. Initially stemming from what Facebook described as a meaningful initiative to prioritize posts from an intimate rather than a public circle after its Cambridge Alalytica scandal in addition to the recent "Wellness Revolution" picking up steam throughout Silicon Valley, this new feature is designed to give users more control over how they spend their time on the apps.

It is quite simple to operate:

Once Instagram is open, you go to your Profile, select "Settings," and then "Your Activity." Displayed will be a bar graph depicting the average amount of time you spent using the app on any given week - alternatively, if you tap a specific bar, you can view the breakdown on a day-by-day basis.

In addition, there are options to manage your time in the form of daily reminders that will notify you when you have exceeded the amount of time you have chosen to be on the app, which you can then ignore or follow, as well as the option to choose who you see notifications from, whether it be strictly from people you follow or no restrictions at all. The process is essentially the same for Facebook under the "Your Time on Facebook" tab.

Instagram and Facebook will continue expanding these features over time in order to include “more insights, more context, and more controls,” according to Ameet Ranadive, Instagram's Product Director of Well-Being.